PLAN Colorado is a future-focused, citizen-led coalition that advocates for public - not special - interests.

Our most fundamental right of self-governance is the right to determine for ourselves, locally, how our land is used, and our communities are developed. This fundamental right is currently under attack in Colorado.

The People’s League for Action Now Colorado (PLAN-Colorado) is a coalition of grass-roots organizations who have joined together to defend and preserve local control of land use planning.

We are a future-focused, citizen-led coalition that advocates for public - not special - interests. We are advocates for local control, and oppose the Polis Housing Measure (SB23-213)  because of its breath-taking overreach and the negative consequences it will have for communities across Colorado. Our focus is on the protection of our natural environment, open spaces, quality of life, and housing affordability for the current residents of Colorado. 

Despite recent amendments, SB23-213 would still take local control and home rule authority away from elected leaders, professional planning staff, and the residents of Colorado. The bill expands state authority by imposing top-down zoning and land use standards on municipalities. The people of Colorado deserve far better than communities designed by state bureaucrats and national development interests. Further, the bill contains “magical thinking” about transportation, water supply, and how infrastructure is planned. Finally, it contains no meaningful requirements to assure that any new housing would be affordable.

As Governor Polis himself wrote in 2015, “Local governments are best suited to meet the unique land use needs of their community through transparent public processes. Local planning involves widespread citizen input and broad stakeholder involvement. When addressing contentious issues, local governments have more opportunities for public participation than a state or federal government. As such, land use tools allow local governments to act consistently with their constituents’ expectations.”

We are forming PLAN-Colorado  because we understand the importance and value of protecting local control and land use authority now and into the future. We invite any like-minded groups and individuals to join us. You can find us at: www.plan-colorado.org

Ross Cunniff is chair of Preserve Fort Collins - www.preservefortcollins.org

Allyn Feinberg is co-chair of PLAN-Boulder County - www.planboulder.org